Get Involved in Horror from Home This Halloween

Halloween is upon us, a time when horror fans get to revel in their hobby and enjoy scares and frights.

From trick or treat to proper events, the US is usually awash with people out on All Hallows Eves enjoying the festivities. Sadly, this Halloween might be a little different given the restrictions likely to be imposed on areas of the country, as outlined by this article titled ‘Is Halloween Canceled?’ It is likely that to enjoy yourself in a fully immersive Halloween horror experience, you will have to do so in your own home.

Of course, there are the usual Halloween pursuits you can enjoy such as carving pumpkins, but that may be a little tame for true horror fans. Streaming services offer plenty of opportunities to watch films and TV shows designed to keep you up at night, but if you want to go fully interactive then you will need to try horror gaming. The horror genre has become more popular in recent years, with themes used across a range of media and game genres. For instance, there is a collection of titles on gaming portal Foxy Bingo which use horror as their main themes, including Halloween Fortune and Blood Moon Wilds. They might not provide the frights a hardened horror fan craves, but they will help set the scene for the evening. Luckily, horror has become mainstream and thanks to games on PC and consoles people can become more immersed this October 31 than ever before. If you want to experience true fear, then these are the best games you can play to scare yourself witless this Halloween.

Until Dawn

The teen slasher genre is synonymous with Halloween, not least because of Michael Myers and the franchise that bears the festival’s name. Often in gaming, it is hard to get right and the usual themes see multiplayer PvP games such as Friday the 13th offer players the chance to be the killer. Until Dawn is different, it perfectly captures the essence of the teen slasher movie and puts you in firm control of the victims. Your decisions will see characters live or die and you will be terrified as you make them. Truly, a superb Halloween game for those who grew up on a diet of slasher movies.

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan

Supermassive Games developed both Until Dawn and Man of Medan, with the latter a more recent release. The themes are very much the same, although there is a nautical element to Man of Medan which does set it apart from its predecessor. Again, your choices see the characters you interact with live or die, but there are now extra modes such as Movie Night and Shared Story which enhance the game. Plus, this is the first installment in a trilogy, meaning you could be set up for the next three Halloween nights.

Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is a twist on the horror genre, avoiding blood, gore and skin-crawling moments for a different psychological terror. You control Six, a little girl who lives in a world far too big for her, inhabited by creep creatures and giants. There is no fighting here either, it is a platform game in which you must sneak and escape their clutches. The genuine fear is one of hopelessness and helplessness, rather than hacking and slashing, but it works wonderfully.

Saw: The Video Game

There are many games based around horror’s most popular characters, and the Saw franchise is one that develops those themes of escape and fear. It is a film that has been replicated in a physical experience, The Saw Experience Las Vegas, but also one you can enjoy at home courtesy of this 2009 release. It may be a retro game, but it combines third-person survival horror with action elements, delivering a solid and enjoyable experience based around instantly identifiable imagery. Instead of reaching for your Saw DVDs, or finding the films on Netflix, why not try to beat Jigsaw at his own game this Halloween?